Lot 304: Print, Artillery Lends Dignity, G. Finley, C.1960

This caricature depicts a militarily dressed man in a red tricorn hat holding a match to a cannon's fuse aimed at a bloody melee. The brawl is made up of various men wielding weapons from all era, viciously butchering each other. Written beneath the scene are the words, "Artillery lends dignity to what would otherwise be a vulgar brawl." It is signed "Finley."

11.0 x 15.0"

Ink, Paper

C. 1960

No noticed damage of any sort to the paper.

George Finley is one of the best known artists of United States Army subjects. Art has been a part of his life since he was very young. As a boy he developed a fervent interest in drawing and he won awards for his paintings in school. As a cadet in West Point his cartoons and illustrations appeared in The Pointer, the cadet literary publication. Soon after graduation in 1960, he began to publish his now well known series of military caricatures. This work features branches, specialties and other aspects of the US Army and is often based on his own military experiences. George retired from active duty in 1983 and established himself as an artist in Germany. He had many shows in his gallery in Gnadental near Schwäbisch Hall and elsewhere, successfully displaying his water colors and pastels. At the same time he continued to add to his series of military caricatures. Beginning in 1988 several US Army commands commissioned George to create paintings commemorating the service of members of those commands in Europe during the Cold War and later. He changed the style of his fine art in 1995 from representational to abstract. Later in 2002 he displayed for the first time a painting in his own style, the New Line, which he created in response to the tragic events of September 2001.